Monday, May 23, 2011

Some of you may not know this about me, but I loooovvveee going to thrift stores. Anytime I can find any kind of decorative item or piece of furniture for cheap that I can refinish or fix up, I feel like I've died and gone to Heaven. Just this past Saturday, I was in a state of pure bliss. Goodwill was having their bi-monthly 50% off sale. I went to 3 different Goodwill stores (I would have gone to more had my husband not stopped me) and spend a grand total of $20 on all the goodies we found. I decided to dedicate this blog post to the decorative goodies that I found, and what I plan to do with them.

First off, let me show you a couple decorative items from my living room. My theme is Birds, and the colors I like to decorate with for that theme are shades of blues and greens, with some black thrown in as well. My preference is Sparrows, Finches, Crows, and Magpies.

Above you can see one of the tables in my living room. I plan on either repainting it, or stenciling a design onto it. I have a beautiful Crow painting that my Mother found for me, and some random cute bird decorative items found at both Home Goods, and Cracker Barrel's Gift Store. Oh, and my rhinestone skull from Michael's. :)

Sorry for the darkness of this shot, I was using the camera on my phone, and the lighting in my living room is less than desirable. I found these 4 metal bird signs at World Market! I was pleasantly surprised, especially since they were on sale for $10 each, AND I had a $10 off coupon. I was pretty happy with this purchase. (Note: I do realize these aren't exactly evenly spaced on the wall. I never measure before I hang things.)

These are some AMAZING ornate frames I found at Goodwill. I've been looking for some like these forever! I only ended up paying $4 total for both of them! The picture they came with is ugly, but I'm taking it out, repainting them, and then framing the embroidered pieces in the photo below inside of them!

I got these images embroidered on a couple pieces of felt from the amazing Kylie of Fabulously Fierce Home Decor! I was so pleasantly surprised that these images fit PERFECTLY into the ornate frames I found. I think they are going to look amazing once they are done. (Click on the shop name above to be taken to Kylie's shop)

Then I found these three bird houses! The two big ones are actually little cabinets. The front opens and inside are some little shelves. I'm going to repaint these as well. Then there is a small black cathedral bird house. I'm leaving that as is. It's really cool and the paint on it still looks brand new. It has a tiny little orange doorknob in the front for little birds to land on. The big bird houses were $2.50 each! I love good deals.

Now these I found for my master bathroom. My bedroom and bathroom are both done in a beach/ocean theme. I thought the little metal sign with the seahorse was adorable, and it was only $1.50. The seashell soap dispenser and toothbrush holder were $3 for the set. There was another piece with them, but I accidentally dropped it and broke it. :(

Last but not least, I found this amazing little pocket watch! This was actually the most expensive item I got from Goodwill at $4. It was well worth it, it's a neat little piece. I'm going to turn it into a really cool steampunk necklace. Oh! I almost forgot, that white rack that you can see in some of my other pictures, I got that for $1.50 and I'm going to use it as a drying rack for my jewelry. That brings my total for all of these goodies to $20! I'm still pretty excited about that.

I will be posting another blog update once I get my frames repainted and hung on the wall. I'm pretty excited about them. I think they are my favorite find from Goodwill. I would definitely recommend checking out Goodwill when they do their 50% off sales. It's every other Saturday!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

In honor of my very first blog post, I'd like to introduce you all to a bad-ass new makeup company known as Espionage Cosmetics. If I could make my font glittery in honor of this post, I totally would.

Let me start off by saying that I personally know the founder of this company, and she just oozes raw talent. Not only does she run this makeup company (with the help of her awesome friend, who just happens to be a US Marine) but she also owns her own wedding planning business, floral design business, and is also a professional, MUD certified makeup artist. She knows what the hell she's talking about.

This little quote is taken from their Facebook fan page,

"We firmly believe that awesome is a color. We wear it every day."

This company is based out of Seattle, WA. and is the brain-child of a severe glitter addict. That being said, I'm extremely happy that this company is open and business is under way. I'm excited for all that is to come for Espionage Cosmetics, and even more excited for customers to get a taste of the glittery-rainbow-explosion that is Espionage Cosmetic's creator.

If you know what's good for you, you'll keep an eye on this company. I highly recommend heading on over to their Facebook page to give them a "Like". While you're there, leave a comment saying that "Mary O." sent you. While you're at it, keep an eye on this blog as well. Within the next week or so, I'll be doing a special giveaway that involves Espionage Cosmetics. You won't want to miss it. :)